Avatar Kinect program shown off at CES 2011

While I was at CES 2011, I decided to wait in the line for the Kinect exhibit at Microsoft’s gigantic booth on the showfloor.

While I was waiting in line, there was a screen nearby, and a Kinect Avatar showed up and began talking to the girl in front of me. He asked her: “Are you texting on that phone?”

The girl seemed as alarmed as I was, and I looked closer and saw that the screen had some cameras attached to it. I then noticed that the Kinect Avatar had moving facial features.

This is what the big M wanted to spotlight with the big K this year. Apparently, the facial movement is done with the sensor, creating a mesh pattern and mapping out the user’s face. This will then show up on the avatar.

This looked new to me, so I decided to take the picture that you see here. At this point, the Kinect avatar asked me if I was filming or taking a picture on my phone. Oddly enough, I responded, although it felt weird talking to just a Kinect avatar. Especially one who insisted calling himself Mr. Kinect (first name “Mister”).

I’m not certain when Microsoft plans on releasing this service to the Kinect platform, but you would think it would be soon, right?